Frozen Embers
by TigerHelix
Summary: OC. During 'Calling all Titans', not every teenaged metahuman was given a communicator. Now, one of the 'forgotten' want in. [Ch4: Boxedin, Bluedini!]
1. Warm Welcome

**Chapter 1  
Warm Welcome**

_Look. Look at the city._

_It's a beautiful city, with the setting sun casting ruby and amber glitter across the ocean. The crimson rays reach the bay, stretching their weightless fingers to reach the reflective surfaces of the gigantic skyscrapers which, in turn, extend their silvery bodies to the clear sky above. Dark blue shadows start to flood the streets below, only to be beaten back by the street lamps that are starting to flicker on. Nameless bodies meander through the growing darkness, preparing for the relaxation that follows a hard day of work._

_Now look beyond the city. On an island a little way out there stands a tower. It doesn't look like a tower. More like a statue. A giant capital 'T'._

_But it is a tower. A home, even. Tourists often come to the city for the sole reason of gazing at this tower. It is not really the Tower they are interested in, however, but its inhabitants. The gods among mortals. The powerful beings that protect this city, with its skyscrapers and flickering street lamps and ocean jewels._

_The Teen Titans._

_Unfortunately, not all teens can be as benevolent..._

--/--/-

Andrew kept a careful look out. He _always_ kept a careful look out. After all, TJ would be angry if he didn't.

Andrew didn't like TJ when he was angry.

So the teen stood guard, his back to his friends, glancing up and down the alleyway nervously. Behind him, two of TJ's friends passed down gasoline cans into the basement of the apartment block, while TJ himself and three others poured the contents all over the basement floor and furniture.

Andrew wasn't completely sure _why_ they were doing this. He knew it had something to do with the people living in the apartments TJ didn't like them, he wanted to chase them back to where they came from. But when Andrew asked where they came from TJ got angry.

Andrew didn't like TJ when he was angry.

Eventually the gurgling of the gas cans stopped. There was a loud _clang_ as the friends dropped the cans to the floor, and quiet grunts as they were lifted out. Andrew felt a hand on his shoulder He turned to look, hopefully.

TJ grinned back at him.

"Did I do good?" Andrew asked him.

"Yeah kid," the older replied, wiping some sweat off his brow, "You did great."

Andrew beamed. TJ wasn't angry...

The two walked off together, TJ's arm around the smaller boy. But not before TJ whispered to his gang: _"Burn the crap-piles."_

A struck match flickered in the growing darkness.

--/--/-

_So...This is it._

He tilted his hooded head up to look at the looming Tower above him. Satisfied, he looked back down to Earth and continued his journey to the front doors. The very, very BIG front doors.

He was reaching a rocky part now, quite steep, so he shifted his grip on his backpack and-

**BREEE!BREEE!BREEE!**

-Jumped as an alarm went off.

He panicked. _Now_ he was in for it. He had tripped an alarm, the Titans were going to come storming out, thinking he's a bad guy and kick his arse.

_Fwoom!_

...Or maybe not. The T-car sped past him on a lower path, completely ignoring him. Though that _could_ have been because he ducked behind some rocks, but that wasn't important.

The R-cycle soon followed its vehicular companion, with the flying form of Starfire close behind.

When they were gone...

He pushed himself out of the rocky crag he had been hiding in and stared after their silhouettes

Watching...

--/--/-

Later.

_"Beast Boy, Cyborg, aim that water a little more to the centre of the fire!"_

_"On it!"_

_"Star, Raven, how many more victims are there?"_

_"I'm not sure Robin. I can sense at least five humans, two unconscious."_

_"I have located a small family of three, one unconscious. I am escorting them out now."_

_"Good work Starfire."_

The comm. link stayed quiet for a while. the silence was filled by the roar of the flames. Smoke billowed out of the apartment block, obstructing the light of the full moon - though it was hardly needed. the light thrown out from the blaze was near blinding.

Days later, a young girl who had been rescued from the fire described it as 'a mighty dragon, trying to defend it's shining treasure.' Now, that make-believe dragon lashed out, as a good portion of the east wall collapsed. nearly three storeys worth of brick and concrete crashed to the ground, giving the inferno within access to precious oxygen.

Fire-fighters backed off hastily as the flame streamed out of the hole. One such fire-fighter found himself banging into a large, green elephant that was spurting water from its trunk. The fire-fighter moved around it, giving it space and respect. A quick glance around revealed where he was meant to be, and he jogged hurriedly to his team.

Meanwhile, Robin, the leader of the Teen Titans, landed on the elephant's back. While to some this may sound odd, the green elephant was actually one of the team members.

"Beast Boy," Robin whispered into the behemoth'sear, "I've talked to the chief. there's no way we can save this building. I need you to help stop the surrounding buildings from catching ablaze. Cyborg and I'll try to ease off the flames long enough for Starfire and Raven to get all the remaining victims out, but we need to make sure the other buildings are safe. Can you do that?"

The elephant's ears twitched in reply.

"Good."

The boy-hero leapt off the creature, flinging three ice-disks at the top of the gap in the wall. They flew into the fourth storey, skittered to a stop and-

_FWOOM!_

A giant ice crystal erupted from the inferno, it's mirror-like surface reflecting the hell of the fire. The flame attacked this new invader, melting it quickly, and the newly created water dripped into the core of the apartment block.

Robin himself landed on a fire-truck, next to where Starfire was placing a freshly-rescued family of three onto the solid ground. The mother of the family clung onto her back, while Starfire held the child and the father - unconscious and sporting a nasty welt on his right temple - in her alien arms. As soon as they had touched down, paramedics flocked to their aid, loading the father onto a stretcher and herding the two female civilians away from their ruined home.

Starfire flew to Robin's side. "Should I proceed to help Raven?"

The Boy Wonder thought. He pulled out his communicator again. "Raven, Starfire's finished escorting the family out. Do you require assistance with the last two?"

_"No,"_ came the crackled reply, _"I have found the last two. I'll try to teleport them ou-"_

There was a sickening crack, a child's scream and...nothing.

"Raven?" Robin shouted at his communicator desperately. "_Raven_!"

Starfire gasped. "Look!" She pointed at the building, where the form of a large black raven had emerged from the fifth storey. With a flap of its mighty wings, it soared past the flickering tongues of flame, over the fire-fighting crews and executed a near-crash landing next to Cyborg.

The metallic teen abandoned the hydrant he was using to spray the flames down and rushed to the aid of the incorporeal bird. The mystical energy that gave the raven its existence faded away to reveal-

Two bodies.

Raven, the final member of the Titans sat hunched over an un-moving body of an African-American woman. _One _African-American woman.

Cyborg stared. "Raven! Where's-"

The dark girl hacked and coughed. "I couldn't," she managed to rasp out, "reach her." Her body was racked by a violent coughing fit and she clutched her aching throat. "I couldn't reach her...when the ceiling collapsed."

Cyborg's one human eye bugged out. "She's still in there!"

Raven nodded mutely.

"Is she alive!"

"Yes, but-"

Cyborg activated the communicator in his arm hastily. "Yo, Robin! There's a girl still trapped in the room, Rae couldn't get to her!"

_"It's too dangerous to send Starfire up there! The entire building's going to collapse!"_

"All the more reason to get her outta there!"

"Cyborg..." Raven laid a hand on his leg, coughed a few times, then continued. "There's someone else up there."

"Another victim?"

"No..." She looked up at the burning building, towards the room she had just vacated. "Not a victim..."

--/--/-

It was gonna be OK. She knew it was gonna be OK, 'coz the Titans were here. And the Titans...well, they're _superheroes_. That means...everything's gonna be OK.

But it was still scary. Melanie tried not to scream, but the flames were getting so hot. She hoped Starfire or someone would come soon and save her.

..Or maybe they didn't _want_ to save her? Was _that_ why Raven had left without her? Were superheroes allowed to pick and choose who they saved?

"What's your name, little girl?" said a voice from behind her.

She looked around hopefully. _A Titan?_

It was no one she recognized A young man stood over her, wearing jeans and a blue, hooded zipper-jacket. The hood was up, blocking his face.

She blinked up at him. "Melanie," she told him. "Are you a superhero?"

"N...no, not exactly." He crouched down next to her. "But I _am_ going to save you, OK?"

She nodded.

"Take my hand."

She had to reach up a bit to do so - the man was kinda tall, taller than Mommy. She looked at their hands clasped together, and noticed how different her small, slightly pudgy, brown hand looked from his pale, long one.

Slowly, he began to lead her out the door - towards the fire. She thought about pulling away and waiting for the Titans to come, but then she wondered how this man had come in. Maybe the Titans had sent him? Maybe he really _was_ a super-hero and was just really shy?

They exited the room, and Melanie became _sure_ that this man was magic. The fires parted, creating a path for them to walk through, and Melanie was reminded of the story her Mommy told her about someone parting a red sea. Melanie had always wondered why the sea was red, but now this person was parting the sea of flame...

Carefully, the stranger led her down the steps towards the lobby, the fire making a path for them all the while. Now that she knew there were no more steps, Melanie closed her eyes, hoping it would stop them from hurting. She couldn't do anything for her throat, though.

And soon she felt the wind blow at her face and she knew without opening her eyes that she was outside. People started shouting, and still the stranger led her on. Cracking one eye open, Melanie could just make out bright red fire trucks, with fire-men flocking around them, shouting. She noticed Starfire and Robin standing on top of one of the fire-trucks, and she waved giddily.

Robin stared at her. Starfire giggled and waved back.

Melanie and the man kept walking away from the apartment, setting a steady pace.

Behind them, the building collapsed in a great fireball.

--/--/-

The fire had long since been extinguished, but a few teams of fire-fighters still lingered, trawling through the ruins of the apartment block to find salvage and put out any remaining embers.

Little Melanie seemed none the worse for wear, despite her late rescue. She sat quite happily in the back of one of the ambulances, sharing a cookie and mug of warm cocoa with her now-conscious mother.

As for her rescuer...

He stood alone, watching the ashes dance in the breeze. And, in turn, he himself was being watched.

"Hi."

He turned slightly at the voice. Raven stood next to him.

"Hey there." He answered softly.

They stood in silence, watching the fire-crews at work.

"I..appreciate what you did." Raven said slowly.

"Oh? When?"

"With the girl. When the ceiling collapsed, she pulled away. I couldn't reach her in time to get us all out safely. I thought I'd be able to go back in, but..."

"Smoke inhalation. It sucks, but it happens. You might want to get yourself checked out, though, before the ambulances leave. People have been known to leave a fire fine then collapse later."

Raven nodded. "Already done. Just because I take on armed thugs everyday doesn't mean I'm reckless."

"Never said you were."

There was another, companionable silence. Yet again, Raven was the one to break it.

"So...I'm guessing pyrokinetic?"

"Hm?"

"Your powers."

"Oh. Not exactly." The stranger shifted his weight to his other leg. "I can change the temperature of the area around me and sometimes send it off in small blasts or pulses. Though I tend to favor _lowering_ the temperature, so I guess you can call me a _cryo_kinetic. I can also use a large body of flame as a means of teleportation, like I did to enter the building."

"But not to exit?"

"Teleportation is probably the wrong word to use. I basically burn myself to death, become part of the flame and 'zip' to where I want to go. I didn't think people would take too kindly to me barbecuing a small girl."

"I see your point." Raven looked at the new hero. "So why do you want to join the Titans?"

A grin could be seen through the shadows cast by the hood. "Am I that obvious?"

Raven didn't reply.

"I'm Frost, by the way," the stranger informed her, dodging the question.

Raven ignored the avoidance. "Is that because of your powers or your problems with sunlight?."

Frost didn't reply, seemingly confused. Then he started to chuckle, lightly. "Miss Raven, you seem to be reading me like a book. Might I ask how you know?"

She gestured towards his hands. "Your skin. It's near white. The only way it can be that pale is if you've never been in the sun in your life. And the only reasons why that be is if you were born a Goth or if you were..."

"Albino." Frost finished for her. He sighed and pulled down his hood. "You think people'll stare?"

"Beast Boy's green, Starfire's nearly orange and Cyborg's half metal. People in this city are used to weird things."

"P'rhaps." Frost ran a hand through his hair, the usually snowy-white tresses turned pale grey from the smoke. His hand paused when it reached his neck, before moving forwards again to remove the rectangular, almost visor-like glasses resting on his nose. He wiped them off on his grey-blue jacket, pensively.

A swish of a cloak made him turn around. Raven had made to leave.

He blinked after her. "Where're you going?" he asked, slipping his glasses back on.

She stopped momentarily. "To introduce you to the team. Are you coming?"

Frost hesitated, then pulled his hood back up and strode after her.

--/--/-

"...Like I said, I don't even want to _think_ about what might've happened if you hadn't of come."

Robin smiled graciously. "I just wish we could've saved the building."

The fire-chief returned the facial expression. "Buildings can be replaced, Boy Wonder, lives can't. There's no way my people would've been able to get everyone out, what with the speed of the fire and weakness the building. It's a wonder the building didn't collapse on its own. If anything, the arsonists saved the city the trouble of demolishing it. Of course, if the city _had_ demolished it the residents wouldn't have lost their things, but..."

"Of course."

"...Can I have my hand back now, sir?"

The fire-chief looked down and noticed he was still shaking the Titan's gloved hand furiously. He let it go sharpish. "Sorry." He mumbled, blushing.

"It's no problem." Robin insisted, trying to massage some feeling back into the limb.

He heard footsteps approaching and, judging by the speed the fire-chief hurried off at, it was probably Raven. Robin turned to face her, and was hardly surprised that the new hero was with her.

At the sign of Raven's arrival the other three Titans also crowded around, forming a semi-circle with Robin to face the two dark newcomers. Raven stood in front of the stranger.

She gestured towards the other. "His name's Frost. He wants to join."

Frost was silent, almost broody.

Beast Boy rolled his eyes at this. "Great, just what we need. Another Raven."

A vein pulsed on Raven's forehead. Frost said nothing.

Robin broke the semi-circle and stepped forward, past Raven, and stopped in front of Frost. "You're very quiet." He remarked.

Frost nodded respectfully and made a little 'hm' sound.

Robin took this as a good sign and continued; "Why do you want to join the Titans, Frost?"

The hooded stranger seemed apprehensive to say, but did admit; "I owe it."

Robin didn't say anymore on the subject. He was familiar with the concept of both atonement and promises, and, though he was curious as to which applied to Frost, knew that they were both touchy subjects. So instead he just nodded, satisfied.

"You can stay the night at the Tower, but in the morning we'll need to assess-"

"Oh, come _on_, man! The dude saved someone's life! Ain't that enough proof of his 'Titan-icity'?"

Robin's eyes narrowed. "Cyborg," he said, trying to stay calm, "meaning no disrespect to Frost here, we cannot just let any meta-human that walks through our doors become a Titan."

"But _technically_ he _ain't_ walked through our doors yet."

Starfire tried to calm them down. "Friends, please, do you not remember what happened last time you argued?"

The boys ignored her and carried on with their squabbling.

"That's beside the _point_!"

"No, it _ain't_! He ain't just walked in from off the street and asked to join! He saved that girl!"

"For which, I am sure, both her and her mother are extremely greatful. But just because he can save people from fires _doesn't_ mean he can fight!"

"Man, I don't get you! How come you can give out communicators to nearly every known teenaged superhero on the planet _when you've never actually met them_, but refuse to do the same for this guy?"

"Because they were already superheroes, Cyborg! I could trust them-"

"You mean like you trusted Hotspot?"

Robin was shocked into silence. Raven, Starfire and Beast Boy winced. Robin was _still_ sore that he had almost caused the downfall of the entire young superhero community. To remind him of it was dangerous. To remind him of it when he was upset...you'd might as well just dig your own grave and jump in it.

The leader opened his mouth at retaliate, but Frost got there first.

"Please." He said softly. Cyborg and Robin looked at him. The newcomer, now he had their attention, continued.

"I did not come here to cause arguments. I came to join the Titans. I appreciate you defending me, Mr. Cyborg, but it is not necessary. I am willing to do anything I must to become a Titan, and believe me, I _will_ do it." He turned to Robin. "I thank you for letting me stay at your Tower, and I will complete any assessment you wish of me. But please, do not ask my about my past."

The Titans looked at him, slightly surprised.

Robin nodded. "Of course. I, of all people, respect your need for a secret identity"

"It is not so much a secret identity. It is more..." He struggled to find a word.

Cyborg laid a hand on his shoulder. "You don't need to explain yourself to us, man. Not if you don't want to."

Though his face was obstructed because of the shadows of his hood, Frost seemed relieved. "Thank you."

There was a small period of calm quiet. Nobody really moved much.

_FWOOMPH!_

"ACK!" Frost fell on his butt, propelled by the Tameranean Princess at his middle.

"Oh, hel_lo_ new friend! We shall have much joyness together, and shall take part in such acts as the sharing of ice-cream and the playing of video games together!" She gasped suddenly. "And you are new to this city, no? Then I _must_ show you the mall of shopping! It is bigger than a _drebfim_!"

Frost had just managed to stop his hood from falling down, but the bottom of his glasses just managed to catch the light. One hand still lingered on his hood edge, whilst the other stopped him from falling over backwards. He shifted uncomfortably in her grasp. "U-h-_um_?" he asked dazedly.

Beast Boy snickered. Raven rolled her eyes. Cyborg grinned. Robin tried to fight his own smirk and failed terribly. "Uh, Star? Remember that talk we had about 'touching'?"

Starfire gasped. "Eep! I apologize, my friend, sometimes I forget how humans do not show affection as _physically_ as Tamerainians." As she was saying this, she jumped up, grabbed Frost by the arm, yanked him up (yet again Frost had to stop his hood from falling down) and tried to brush some of the dust off of him.

Beast Boy snickered louder.

Starfire blushed cutely. "Um...I shall...go ahead to prepare the Tower for your arrival! Yes, I...um..." She seemed at a loss. "_Bye_!" She shouted over her shoulder as she left in a rush.

It was a good thing Frost still had a grasp on his hood.

Robin stood next to him. "You okay?" He asked.

Frost looked at him boredly. "I've just been glomphed by one of the most popular girls on the planet. I am _more_ than okay. I'm damn skippy."


	2. Icy Reception

**Chapter 2  
Icy Reception **

Frost didn't really sleep. Unless of course he had over-used his powers or was injured in some way, but usually he stayed up reading or on the computer.

However, during his journey to Titan's Tower he had finished the book he was reading several times over, and had depleted the last of the energy in his laptop battery. Though there _were_ power sockets in his – in _the_ – room, someone had fitted coverings over them to protect them, and Frost didn't really fancy breaking stuff on his first night.

He was sorely tempted to explore the Tower, but considering Robin's suspicions that didn't seem like a good idea.

So instead, Frost just lay still, staring blankly at the ceiling. Bored...

It was a nice room he was in, though. It was rectangular in shape, with the double bed placed against the middle of one of the longest sides. From his position on the bed, looking right to left, he could see the door, a floor-to-ceiling length window, a desk, and a kind of alcove that took up the entire length of the wall

Ok, so he couldn't see the desk and alcove _at the moment,_ but he would be able to if he put his glasses on.

Personally, Frost thought the alcove was a nice touch. The window was going to cause trouble though. Luckily it was north facing so it didn't get strong sunlight, but its size meant its light would flood nearly the entire room. Curtains could help with that though...

Frost mentally shook his head. Look at him. He didn't even know if he'd be here tomorrow night and he was already thinking of interior design.

To Hades with it. He needed to get out of here.

He pushed himself off the bed and took his glasses off the bed-side table, but didn't put them on. Instead he just slipped them into his jeans pocket. He left his jacket by the foot of the bed and, running his hand through his still damp hair – he had had a shower to get the ash out – departed the room.

The corridor outside was 'L' shaped, with one side of the L walled with windows. Again, north-facing.

Frost leaned against the door frame and breathed deep, thinking where to go. Starfire had given him a crash-course tour, but she had only really showed him the main room, the bathroom, the roof and some bedrooms, namely hers, Robin's and Cyborg's.

Footsteps made Frost look up.

At the other end of the corridor, Cyborg yawned at him.

Frost nodded at him. "Hey." He said softly. He started to wish he had brought his jacket out, but so far, Cyborg had seemed cool about...

The metal teen returned the gesture and walked towards him. "Hey. What're you doin' up?"

The albino pushed off from the door frame and shrugged. "I don't sleep often. Thought I'd go for a walk."

"Well I'd try if I were you, dawg. Robin's trainin' sessions are tough. _Real_ tough." By now Cyborg had crossed the length of the corridor and had reached his new ally. He turned the corner and kept going towards – if Frost remembered correctly – the main room.

"What about you? What're you doing up?" Frost asked, following him.

Cyborg yawned again, gentler this time. "Been having trouble sleepin'. Thought I'd get a snack. That fire just kinda got to me, ya know?"

"How so?"

"Well..." Cyborg paused and gestured. "Whoopin' bad guy butt is difficult, but it's just that; whoopin' bad guy butt. But when you hear that there's been an attack on human bein's...it, it kinda just hits you. You've spent all this time dealin' with somethin' above the ordinary, then somethin' like this happens and you just..."

"Feel the mortality."

Cyborg nodded. "Right. Or somethin'..."

They had reached the elevator. Frost winced at the bright light as they entered, but said nothing. Cyborg set the elevator to the main room.

"And what about Robin?"

"Hm?" Cyborg turned from the console. "What about Robin?"

Frost leaned back against the wall and cocked his head so he could see the other. "Well, he's...mortal, I guess. Not saying that the rest of you aren't, but you get what I mean."

Cyborg scratched his chin in thought. "Well...first of all, you have to understand, just 'coz Robin ain't got powers don't mean he's weak."

Frost put his hands up in defence. "Never said it did." He said, hurriedly.

"I know, I know." The elevator doors _pinged_ open. Cyborg led the albino out. "But Robin ain't exactly _mortal_. He's too...'larger than life' for that, ya know? Too..." he trailed off, eyes on the other side of the room. His silver and brown brow creased in a frown. "_Stubborn_." He finished angrily.

Frost craned his neck to see over Cyborg's shoulder at the large, floor-to-ceiling computer screen that made up the main room's window. Someone had turned it on, and with his glasses off he could see orangey-yellow flickerings and white squares with black blurs on them.

He guessed videos from the fire and text documents.

The light cast by the computer screen shone down, illuminating the room, giving enough light to make out a bundle of red, green and black fabric splayed out over one of the control panels.

As Cyborg and Frost approached it, the hazy colours separated enough for the latter to make out Robin's slumped-over shape.

The Titan – the awake one – grabbed the sleeping boy's shoulder and shook it gently. "Robin? C'mon dawg, wake up. You should be in bed."

Robin groaned. "Nnnn...Cy?" The twitching of the eyemask implied rapid blinking.

"What're you doin' up, man? Star told you to go to bed."

Frost stayed behind them, shifting his weight to his other leg, watching.

"I...had to finish this. I'll be done in a sec."

The difference between the behaviour of these two teens now and when Frost had first approached them seemed drastic. There was either a strong, brother-type bond...or major sexual tension.

Frost half-hoped it was the first one. He had a bet going on with an old school-mate that Cyborg was secretly dating Beast Boy.

Or at least, he _had_ had a bet going...

He shook that thought off and started to try and read the text on screen.

He squinted. He closed one eye. He closed the other. He opened the first one. He tilted his head back. He tilted it forwards.

He gave up and took his glasses out of his pocket.

"What is it you're working on?" he asking, slipping the lenses on.

Robin jumped at his voice, swivelling round in his seat to stare at Frost. He looked at him, confused. "Frost?" He asked, his eyes narrowing.

Frost nodded.

"Huh." The Boy Wonder's masked eyes lingered on him for a few more seconds, taking in every detail of the previously hooded albino's face, before turning back to the screen. "I'm going over the police reports and the surveillance cameras from this evening. I'm trying to see if the police missed anything."

Frost walked forwards and sat himself in front of one of the spare control panels.

"Why? I mean, it wasn't a bomb, it was commercial gasoline, nearly every person in the apartment block was of an ethnic minority and didn't a gang or something own up to it? It was racist arson."

Robin frowned. "Or, theory two, someone else set up the attack to get at someone in particular, and either paid the gang to do it or just happened to target the same place the gang was going to. The gang didn't want to seem like someone had bettered them, so they called a bluff and said they did it."

"Well..." Frost thought. "I don't know this city's rogues as well as you do..."

"No, you don't."

The newcomer ignored the snapped reply. "...But arson doesn't seem to fit any of their MOs. Even if they had something against someone in the apartment block, they're all creatures of habit. They'd get their own back in their own ways, make a big show of it."

"And what about mercenaries? 'Leave no survivors'? If they had set a bomb then we would've been able to find the fragments and find out it was a hired killing. They'd know we'd search the history of everyone in the building, investigate everyone that has something against one of the tenants, and eventually find the person who hired them."

Frost cocked his head to the side, then uprighted it, completing a sort of sideways nod. "Got a point I suppose. But aren't we doing that anyway?"

From over in the kitchen area, Cyborg chuckled. "Don't argue with him, man. You ain't gonna win, believe me."

Frost smirked mischievously, before making his way over to the kitchen. "I'll hold you to that, you know."

The other shook his head. "You want a drink, Snowy?"

Frost paused, half-sitting on one the bar-stool-styled seats in front of the counter. "What did you call me?"

"Snowy. Ya know, like a nickname?"

"...Ok. By the way, Tintin wanted me to tell you Captain Haddock'll be round on Tuesday to drop off my ball and leash."

Cyborg chuckled again and shook his head. "Nah, man. I mean like...instead of 'Frosty the snowman' it's 'Snowy the frostman.' Or somethin'"

"Hm."

"Look, do you want a drink or not?"

Frost settled onto the stool. "Do you have any tea?" He asked.

Cyborg nodded. "Sure have. You want Earl Grey, or-"

"Stay away from Raven's herbal!" Robin warned from the other side of the room.

"I know! Now get back to your angstin'!"

"I am _not_ angsting!"

Frost chuckled softly. "Earl Grey would be great."

The three boys remained silent for a while, the quiet only broken by Robin's furious keystrokes and the bubbling of the boiling kettle.

Cyborg stared into space. Robin 'angst'ed. Frost slipped his glasses off, put them on the counter and rubbed his eyes.

"How badly do you need those?" Cyborg asked, nodding towards the black spectacles in Frost's hands.

"Nn? Oh. Technically I'm blind in my left eye, but my powers give me the ability to sense body-heat, so I'm not majorly handi-capped."

"_Blind_?"

"Well, not blind as such. More...drastically short-sighted." He put his hand about an inch from his left eye. "I can only really see stuff properly if it's this far away." He put his hand down and shrugged. "It sucks, but so does life."

Robin had been listening in. "What about your-" Cyborg shot him a look "-other problem?"

"What other problem?" Frost asked loftily, accepting the warm drink from Cyborg and again wishing for his jacket.

"Your photosensitivity." Robin stood and started to walk towards the other two. Cyborg placed a mug of cocoa on the counter next to Frost for him. "I saw you talking to Raven after the fire and noticed your hair. I had suspicions you were albino and knew it was going to cause trouble."

Frost paused from blowing on his tea. "'Suspicions'? What else, praytell, did you have 'suspicions' about?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"You didn't answer mine."

An icy glare passed between the two. Cyborg shifted uncomfortably.

"Look, guys-"

"If you knew I was albino, why did you give me a room with such a large window on a corridor _lined_ with the bloody things?"

"-It's late, 'n we've all had a busy day-"

"If you're a pyrokinetic, why didn't you just put the fire out?"

"-And Frost's just got here. Don't start off badly, man-"

"Why did you give communicators to every _famous_ teen-aged meta-human, but not to the lesser-known ones?"

"-'Sides, Robin's suspicious of everybody-"

"Why did you act so cold and dark when you first approached us?"

"-Ok, nearly everybody, but-"

"Cyborg?" Frost asked. "Please hush."

The other two looked at him in shock.

Robin frowned. "Don't you dare tell him to-"

"Let 'im talk, man."

Robin stared at Cyborg, before returning his gaze to Frost. The albino had closed his eyes, composing himself...

"My photosensitivity is inconvenient, but my jacket protects my face and arms. The lenses in my glasses are also tinted to reduce exposure to my eyes. I've managed 17 years as an albino, and I assure you I am an expert at dealing with it.

"As for the fire, I arrived here at the tower at the same time you guys left. I didn't have any fancy vehicles, so it took me longer to arrive at the fire. By the time I got there, if I had attempted to put the fire out, it would've collapsed anyway. The fire had drastically weakened the building, and me putting it out would've not only weakened it further, but probably would've drained me completely, and, seeing as I need to be close to the fire to do this, the building would've collapsed onto my unconscious form. _And_ the girl would've died anyway.

"The way I acted when I first approached you...is just the way I act when I first approach anyone. I have had a lot of problems with people in the past, partially because of my appearance, partially my attitude, and partially my up-bringing. I tend to...act defensive until I know them better, and know they won't cause trouble." He took a sip of his tea. "Are those satisfactory answers?"

Robin didn't answer straight away. "...Yes." He walked back to the computer, leaving his cocoa untouched.

The other two stared after him.

"...Jerk." Frost murmured into his drink.

Cyborg rubbed the back of his head. "Don't take it the wrong way. We've trusted in the past and it didn't end too well."

"I heard."

"Just give him time and he'll-"

"Can I take this to my room?" Frost asked, indicating his tea.

Cyborg blinked. "Uh, sure."

The other slipped his glasses from the counter into his pocket and picked the tea up in both hands. He walked to the elevator...but stopped in front of the doors.

"And Robin?" He asked. "Don't ever call me a pyrokinetic again, OK?"

And he was gone.

--/--/-

_WHAM!_

Andrew winced. The stereo shattered upon impact with the wall.

TJ was angry. Very angry.

"HOW THE _HELL_ DID THEY KNOW! THEY SHOULD'VE _BURNED!_"

Rachel - sweet Rachel, very pretty, always knows what to do – tried to stop him from wrecking anymore things. "Keep it _down_ Teej, the neighbours'll hear you."

"I DON'T GIVE A SH-" Andrew covered his ears with his hands – he wasn't supposed to listen to words like that. He waited a bit then took them away. TJ was still angry. "-NEIGHBOURS FRIGGIN' HEAR ME! THEM GODDAMN NI-" His ears were covered just in time.

If Andrew could he would cover up his ears completely, or leave and not come back until TJ wasn't angry. But he had tried that and...

...And it had just made it so much worse.

He released his ears slowly.

"-OUGHTA'VE _BURNED_!"

The coffee table disintegrated into splinters. TJ winced and rubbed his sore foot.

"They should be _dead_." He wheezed.

Rachel nodded and moved to his side. "I know, Teej, I know." She took advantage of her leader's temporarily calm start-of-mind and held him by the shoulders. "But we'll get'em. Even if we have to keep picking 'em off one-by-one like we used to, we'll do it. We'll scare 'em back to Africa or whatever god-forsaken mud-pit they've come from. Just wait."

TJ, still nursing his injured foot, gave her a foul glare. "I don't _wan't_ to wait. I want them gone _NOW!_" He threw Rachel's hands off of his shoulder and punched the wall mightily. The plaster cracked and dented, a red, wet mark left in the centre.

Andrew was just thankful that wasn't him.

--/--/-

"If you're going to be a Titan, you have to be able to fight. If you're completely helpless, you're going to be nothing but a liability in battle. Or maybe you just know the basics and need help. Either way, I need to assess your skills to see if you can defend yourself sufficiently and how much training you'll need.

"Now, using your powers, I want you to come at me and – Beast Boy, _what_ are you doing?"

The changeling threw his hands up hopelessly. "Dude! Didja have to give me away? I'm seeing if the new guy's really half-blind!"

Frost barely shifted. "Firstly, I'm not blind. Just incredibly short-sighted. Secondly, I'm wearing my glasses, so I can see you perfectly. Thirdly," He turned to look at Beast Boy. "You're checking the wrong eye."

Beast Boy, who was standing on his _right _side, blinked up at him. "...Oh. Well how am I supposed to know any of those things? You didn't tell me, and with that hood up..." He tried to peer into the shadows. Frost backed away at first, but then caught the looks on Cyborg, Raven and Robin's faces and just...

_To heck with it._

...Pulled his hood down.

"Gah!" Beast Boy jumped back some. Then tried to peer even closer into Frost's face. "_Duuude_..."

Frost raised a pale eye-brow. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Your eyes are so _freaky_!"

Cyborg grinned from the side-lines of the blue mat. "C'mon man, you're _green_. You're calling _him_ freaky?"

"Cy, have you _seen_ them? They're bright red!"

Frost pushed him off the mat. He tripped on the edge and landed at Raven's feet, who was sitting on a bench, reading.

Starfire hovered over to him. "Friend...m-may I?" She held a hand out to his chin.

A nod, and Starfire gently hooked her finger under his head and tilted it back.

"Fascinating...Since we encountered so many gifted youths some months ago, I started researching the possible origins of these gifts. Eventually I found myself intrigued by all manners of human mutations or stray genes and how they affect life. With so many, it is a wonder anyone turns out 'normal.'" She turned his head from side-to-side, slowly. "The eyes of albinos are sensitive to light, correct? Are these lights too bright? Do you wish for me to dim them?"

Frost shook his head. "The lenses of my glasses are tinted. I'll be fine."

Across the mat, Robin folded his arms. "I don't think either of us want your glasses being broken. I'd take them off if I were you. Starfire, dim the lights."

The Tameranean flew to a control panel in the wall and lowered the intensity of the lighting. Frost slipped his glasses off his nose and laid them and his jacket on the bench next to Raven, before taking his place on the mat again.

"Now," Robin tried again, "Come at me."

Frost shrugged. "I'm not really much of the charger sort." _Chiing!_ A thin spike of ice appeared in his hand. "...Why don't you come to me?"

The spike flew through the air. It embedded itself in the mat where Robin had been just a few seconds ago. Robin himself finished the back-flip and used the momentum to leap forward, pole-vault with his drawn bo staff and execute a flying kick at Frost. The albino crossed his arms in front of his face.

_WHAM!_

Robin's feet connected with a solid wall of ice, which he back-flipped off of, landed, then ducked quickly as it flew towards him. He righted himself just in time to block Frost's ice-laden fist with his bo staff held vertically.

_Chiing!_

Three thin needles of ice materialised in Frost's left hand like claws, which he used to slash at the Boy Wonder. Robin, still blocking the fist with his bo staff, managed to dodge the claws, but three parallel rips were left in his costume's side.

Frost took another slash, this one vertical, but Robin managed to push the fist to one side, block the needles from the other, then bring the staff sharply across Frost's face.

The ice-wielder stumbled back, keeping a grip on the needles but melting the ice-fist. The water re-shaped into three more needles, which he swung at Robin on his next charge.

Quickly, Robin threaded his staff through the claws of the one hand, twisted, and wrenched them out of Frost's grip. Still spinning his bo staff, Robin struck at the other's head, torso, and shoulder vertically. Frost barely managed to deflect the blows with his remaining claws. Then, using Robin's last technique against him, he caught the staff between his claws, twisted it slightly, then pushed Robin away with a kick to the gut.

A slight breather...

Robin readied his bo staff again. "Not bad."

Frost grinned, holding his claws up to guard his face. "Thanks. I used to get in a lot of fights at school, so my foster parents sent to me self-defence classes. Probably thought I could get it out of my system or something..."

A shared grin, fuelled by the adrenaline rush.

"_HrraaAGH_!" Robin charged, bo staff held high-

-And slipped on the layer of ice beneath his feet.

_WHAM!_ He landed on his butt.

From the sidelines, Beast Boy sniggered helplessly.

Robin quickly but cautiously righted himself, trying not to fall again. He looked up just in time to see three ice-needles flying towards him.

"Gah!" He dodged just in time. The needles embedded themselves in the wall behind him.

But Robin wasn't going to be distracted. He saw Frost charging at him, three more needles held ready to attack.

Robin blocked with his staff, pushed the claws upwards, hit Frost square in the back and shoved him forwards. Frost made to turn-

_WOOMPH!_

-And ended up slipping on his own ice.

Beast Boy burst out in hysterical laughter. Cyborg snickered. Even Raven cracked a small smirk.

Frost tried to clear the stars from his vision. "...Ow."

He sensed a body-heat stand over him and saw a blur of colours out of his left eye. Robin's voice said: "Ok Frost. That's enough." A haze of green that must've been the Boy Wonder's glove was offered to the floored albino.

Frost nodded, still trying to clear the fuzziness from his head, and groped for the hand.

They touched and-

_Wumph!_

-Robin found himself thrown across the room. He rolled to a stop at the edge of the mat.

Frost watched him, face impassive, body still hunched from the throw.

Robin pushed himself up.

Their eyes met.

"...Alright." Frost straightened. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked away. "If that's it-"

"RaaaAAGH!" Robin charged.

Frost smirked. He spun around and grabbed Robin's bo staff before it crashed down on him.

They struggled, Robin shoving it down, Frost pushing up.

Frost grinned. Robin grit his teeth...then returned the facial expression.

A sizzling sound split the air. Robin's gloves started to steam. His eyes widened. He reversed his actions, tugging desperately at the staff, but it wouldn't budge; Frost's grasp was too strong.

The bo staff started to glow red-hot. Robin kicked Frost away.

The albino stumbled back.

_Whap!_ Robin smacked the back of his knees with the glowing staff, making him trip.

Yet again, Frost found himself on his back...and not in the good way.

The Boy Wonder stood over him again, this time on Frost's right side. "Had enough?"

Frost nodded. "Yeah. Alright. I give."

Robin held out his hand. Frost took it.

"Now," Frost started when he had righted himself. "Let's go find a hospital." He limped off, rubbing the bruise on his jaw.


	3. Hot Pink and Cool Blue

**_A/N:_**_ Curse my procrastination. I apologise for the extreme lateness of this chapter, and hope to get the next one up ASAP._

_sigh..._

** Chapter 3  
Hot Pink and Cool Blue**

Some hours after the sparring session, after Raven had patched up their new friend with her powers, Starfire went looking for Robin. He had 'hung about' to make sure Frost was alright, did the 'joking around' for a few minutes, then went off to his room and hadn't come out since.

It was odd, considering how quiet the villains of the city had been recently. There had been that incident two months ago with the matter-changing monster, and with Slade's robot, but he couldn't be obsessing over that now, could he?

Starfire shifted nervously outside the Boy Wonder's door, tugging on the hem of her skirt. Beast Boy charged past randomly behind her, Frost's black spectacles in his grasp.

Stafire bounced on her heels.

The owner of the stolen glasses chased after him, calling: "Beast Boy! Get back here!"

Beast Boy blew a raspberry.

Frost yelled again: "You're meant to be _nice_ to blind people!"

"But you're not blind! You're just 'incredibly short-sighted'!" The shape-shifter called over his shoulder.

"_Beast Boy_!"

Their footsteps faded down the hall.

Starfire took a deep breath, raised a hand to knock, put it back down by her side, took another deep breath and repeated.

Raven strolled past, a leather-bound book held in one hand and a herbal tea in the other. Her hooded head was buried in the book, and as she walked past she sipped serenely at the drink. She looked at Starfire, who had gone back to tugging at her purple skirt.

Raven shook her head, reached out and knocked on Robin's door.

"Who is it?" Came the gruff reply.

Raven walked off, leaving a flustered Stafire behind.

"Who's _there_?" Robin demanded from inside. He opened the door, glaring.

Starfire quickly dropped the hem of her skirt and beamed. "Robin! I-I was wondering what you were doing locked up in your room on such a glorious day, e-especially considering the recent lack of criminal activity and the arrival of our new member!"

Robin frowned, but gestured her in. "He's not a member yet, Star."

"You doubt him?"

Robin sighed and sat behind his desk. "I don't know, Star. Maybe I'm just paranoid..." He pushed some clutter away to make room and leaned his arms against the empty space.

Stafire fidgeted in the doorway. She brightened suddenly. "Then we should get to know him, correct? Whether he is nefarious or not, we should learn of his manners and reasons." She clasped her hands to her chest and giggled girlishly. "And I know of the perfect Terran ritual to do so!"

Robin eyed her warily, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

--/--/-

_BAM!_ The garage door burst open. A green streak of wild, feline speed raced through it and skidded to a stop in front of the newly polished T-car. Beast Boy morphed back into his usual elfin form before taking a pair of black, rectangular spectacles out of his mouth and looking around desperately.

"Cy?" He called, eyes scanning the dimly-lit room.

"Beast Boy? What're you doin' with those glasses?"

Beast Boy yelped and looked down at the voice. Cyborg lay on a sort of skate-board, half under the T-car, half exposed, and had fixed the changeling with a suspicious look.

Before Beast Boy could answer, however, the garage door once again burst open. Frost stood in the doorway seemingly irritated, though this irritation turned to slight anger as his crimson eyes – his right one at least – focussed on Beast Boy.

"_Give_." he ordered, holding a hand out to the glasses.

Beast Boy backed off uneasily, but still had enough courage to say; "Say pleeease."

Frost didn't move.

Cyborg climbed out from under the T-car and stood between the two. "C'mon dawg, give the guy back his specs-"

The room went black.

Something brushed past Cyborg in the darkness, collided with Beast Boy ("oof!") and managed to engage the changeling in a brief tussle before pushing him to the ground.

"OK Raven, I got'em."

The darkness receded, and the Titan empath who had taken up Frost's previous space in the doorway lowered her hand. Frost himself, now with his glasses, was standing on the other side of Cyborg, just in front of a floored – and rather groggy – Beast Boy.

Beast Boy rubbed his green head. "Did ya need to hit me so hard?"

"Did you need to make me chase you around the Tower for half an hour?"

"Dude! Just think of it as a tour or something!"

Frost rolled his eyes and held his hand out for Beast Boy. The green boy took it.

His communicator chimed just as he was getting up. So did Cyborg and Raven's. They answered them, and Frost leaned over Beast Boy's shoulder.

On the small, circular screen, Robin's face stared back at them. He smiled – not a good thing for him. _"Titans,"_ he began, _"what's say we show our new friend around the city and get him settled? Maybe pick up some things for him. He wasn't exactly packed for a long stay..."_

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow. "Dude, are you suggesting we go to the mall? This was Starfire's idea, wasn't it?"

The smile slipped a bit. _"...Yes. But that's beside the point."_

The alien girl herself popped up behind Robin's head. _"Hello!"_ She called, waving. Frost couldn't help himself; he waved back.

_"So what do you say? Titans? Frost?"_

The four teens in the garage looked at each other.

Cyborg shrugged. "No reason why not."

Beast Boy grinned. "Dude! D'ya think they'll have '_Super Ninja Smackdown II_' in yet?"

Raven...was Raven. "Do I have to go?"

Frost looked apprehensive. "I-I don't...I don't do well with big crowds."

Beast Boy looked at him incredulously. "C'_mon_! You gonna live your entire life with only two shirts?"

Frost had to admit, he could kinda see Robin and Beast Boy's point. Upon arrival to Jump City, his inventory consisted of the clothes on his back – a navy-blue shirt, his jeans, jacket, sneakers, glasses and, obviously, his underwear – a spare, grey, too-big t-shirt that – strictly speaking – wasn't even _his_, some money, his laptop, a book and his tooth brush and tooth paste. Though he had made do with only these items for about a month now, the jeans were getting a little...worn in. And a change in underwear and a shave would not go unappreciated.

He looked slowly at each of the Titans in turn, before giving the affirmative grudgingly.

Beast Boy nearly jumped for joy. Cyborg walked over and gave Frost an encouraging pat on the back. "Don't worry, man. It's usually not that busy."

--/--/-

"Define 'not that busy'." Frost monotoned, glaring at the bustling mall from under his hood.

Cyborg rubbed the back of his head. "Oops. Guess I forgot the whole 'summer vacation' thing."

Indeed, the summer vacation was obvious wherever one journeyed in the mall. Be it the huge '_Summer sale: 20 off!_' signs, or the bright sunlight streaming through the glass roof, or even the all too common flashing of naked skin wherever one looked, it was impossible to escape. It was the latter that kind of bothered Frost, being covered completely head-to-toe. Though he hoped that, due to the large crowds, no one would notice him or-

"_Hey look! It's the Titans!_"

_Aw crud-muck._

Almost immediately people started flocking around.

_"Robin! Robin, I want your children!"_

_"Yo, Raven! What's say you dump these dweebs and hang around with us?"_

_"Cyborg, you rock man!"_

_"Beast Boy! You're so cute!"_

_"Stafire! Bear my babies!"_

Frost tried to hide behind Cyborg and Robin. No such luck.

_"Hey, who's that guy?"_

_"Huh?"_

_"Behind Cyborg and Robin!"_

_"He's the guy from yesterday!"_

_"Dude! You saved my little bro's best friend!"_

_"Are you a Titan?"_

_"What's your name!"_

Frost pulled his hood up further to hide from the various cameras – phones, Polaroids, even some professional journalist ones – only to bump into the small mob that had assembled behind the Titans.

_FLASH!_

Frost winced and staggered back to his friends, trying to see through the spots in front of his eyes. Starfire held his shoulders gently to stop him from colliding with anyone else.

Robin tried to put a stop to this. He put his hands up at shoulder level, palm-open. "Please, we appreciate your enthusiasm towards us, but we only want to go about our business. Frost is, at the moment, only a guest in the tower, and we must ask you not to harass him.

"Now please, let us past."

There was a small stirring, but few people moved until Cyborg actually tried to move past. Being the tallest, he lead the group through the crowd towards the escalator, followed by Raven, Beast Boy, Starfire and Frost, and finally Robin.

Beast Boy leaned over and whispered to Raven: "Kinda freaky, ain't it? The way they're looking at us..."

Raven barely turned her head. "They're obsessed. Not deaf."

Behind them, Stafire was still leading Frost by the shoulders. "Have your eyes returned to their normal light intake?"

Frost rubbed at his tired optics under his glasses. "I _hate_ cameras..." By the time they had climbed onto the escalator, he had managed to keep his eyes open – though still had some difficulty fighting the wince reflex. "Are they _always_ like this?"

"Sometimes," Robin admitted, "But I think it's worse now because of the tourists. Most of the citizens have gotten used to us and don't react, but there are still a few who act slightly...odd."

Almost as if to prove his point, some random blonde chased up the escalator and tackled Robin to the ground.

"ROBIN! HAVE MY CHILDREN!"

Two of her friends managed to pull her off just as they reached the top. They dragged her away, kicking and screaming.

Robin picked himself up and straightened his cape. "See what I mean?"

"Uh-_huh_."

--/--/-

Minutes later, the team split up. Cyborg and Beast Boy went to check out the video games, Starfire dragged Raven off to the 'parlour of beauty', and Robin and Frost were left to stroll around the building in a leisurely manner, looking for anything the newcomer might need.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Cyborg and Beast Boy made bets as to how long Robin and Frost could go without arguing. They decided half an hour at the most.

--/--/

Quarter of an hour later...

_WHAM!_

"Waddaya mean they're non-refundable!"

The cashier flinched. "I-I'm sorry ma'am, but I can't give you your money back unless you have a receipt."

"Why the hinikey should I hold on to some stupid scrap of paper just because _you_ have cruddy stuff! I was guaranteed these were top-quality! I WANNA REFUND!"

"They aren't built to withstand explosions..."

"WHY NOT!"

The attendant started to stutter an explanation while his antagonizer bawled at every other word.

Raven looked on at the scene, hood up and face blank. Calmy, she walked back to Starfire, who was sifting through an assortment of...pink...things.

"We should go."

Starfire looked up, surprise on her face. "But, why-?"

_"WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF THE KING OF ENGLAND CAME IN HERE RIGHT NOW, AND ASKED FOR SHOES THAT COULD PROTECT HIM FROM EXPLOSIONS. WHAT WOULD YOU DO THEN, HUH!"_

Starfire's eyes widened. Raven winced slightly, but didn't stop her friend from walking past.

_"...England is ruled by a Queen."_

_"ARE YOU GIVING ME SASS! I'LL HAVE YOUR HINEY **FIRED**!"_

The rack of clothes ended and Starfire gazed towards the till. She gulped.

_"No ma'am, I'm just saying-"_

_"MANAGER! MANAGER!"_

Blonde, shoulder length hair secured back with a pink headband, a pink, button up shirt and jeans, matching pink high-heels and one of the highest, whiniest, shrillest voices that would put even a banshee to shame. All of these things add up to one, annoying, mid-teen thing.

"_Kitten._" Starfire ground her teeth. Her eyes flamed bright green and her fist clenched with so much strength the Man of Steel would start running in the opposite direction.

At the sound of her name, the blonde bubblehead turned. She saw Starfire. Her eyes widened.

"_You_!" She shrieked, pointing for dramatic affect.

Starfire summoned her starbolts.

"Don't." Raven warned her from behind, but she paid no heed.

Kitten snarled. "You _ruined_ my prom! You and your stupid, no good, spiky-haired little-"

"Do not talk of him that way!"

The cashier, now aware that something was seriously, seriously wrong here, made a break for it.

Kitten looked after him, surprised, before yelling "HEY, WHAT ABOUT MY REFUND?"

Half-hidden by a clothes rack, Raven turned her head. "Not the most threatening of villains, is she?"

Frost walked to her side. "Please tell me she's the only one this...eccentric."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing Robin hasn't briefed you on Control Freak yet."

Starfire aimed a starbolt. "Now, you _will_ surrender without resistance, and you _will_ inform me of how you broke out of the Juvenile Detention Centre!"

"I didn't." Kitten folded her arms smugly. "I got let out for good behavior."

Starfire's eyes widened. Her starbolt failed for a second, before coming back in full fury. "You _lie_! You can not be let out for good behaviour because you...you are a...a... _chlombar fimslid_!"

"Shouldn't we do something?"

"Like?"

"Stop Starfire from killing someone?"

"...Why would we do that?"

Kitten examined her nails, cutely. "I have _no_ idea what that means. But believe it or not, I'm telling the truth. And if you harm me for no reason I _could_ have you arrested. And without you, who will Robbie-poo go to for comfort on cold, lonely nights?"

"You just declared you despised him!"

"I never said that. I said he was a 'stupid, spikey-haired, no good little,' and then you cut me off."

The 'logic' of Kitten's words took a while to sink in.

Starfire snarled. "_YOU_-"

Someone grabbed her wrist.

She turned her head.

Robin gazed back at her with masked eyes. "She's not worth the effort."

Starfire's lips parted. She stared.

Robin's lips twitched. "Remember last summer when that fly was buzzing around the rec. room and you tried to help Raven to get rid of it? What did you learn then?"

Starfire blinked in surprise. "I...I-I learnt that..." She paused, clueless.

The corner of Robin's mouth turned upwards. Eventually, so did Starfire's. Her Starbolt flickered out of existence.

"I learnt...not to use my Starbolts to eliminate irksome insects."

Kitten's eyes widened "WHAT'D YOU SAY!"

Frost smirked. "_Bulls_eye."

**BEEP-BEEP!**

Raven's communicator chimed. So did Starfire's and Robin's. They pulled them out and flipped them open with Star Trek-like sounds.

There was a moment of silence as each Titan studied the information on their screens – or in Frost's case, on Raven's.

Kitten stared at them all, the anger on her face momentarily replaced by confusion.

Robin flipped his communicator closed and, dropping Starfire's hand, declared: "Titans, trouble!"

"We had gathered." Frost monotoned. His statement fell on deaf ears as the Boy Wonder sprinted out of the shop, closely followed by an airborne Starfire. Raven touched his arm lightly. "Brace yourself." She warned, as her black soul energy surrounded them.

Kitten snapped out of her confusion. "H-Hey! What about me?"

Raven paused her powers long enough for Frost to indicate the charred remains of a pair of stilletoes on the counter and say: "Try staying away from explosions."

Raven's soul self consumed the two heroes before soaring upwards to – and through – the ceiling.

Kitten pouted.

--/--/-

Jump City's _Bank of Perez_ isn't really famous for its long periods of employment. There were a few hard-wearing workers that had been around for a decade or so, but the rest of the staff seemed to be almost constantly chopping and changing.

The reason for this is also why Jump City's _Bank of Perez_ _was_ famous; the high quantities of break-ins.

Yes, be it HIVE, Le Blanc, or today's attemptee:

"MUMBO JUMBO!"

_**BOOM!**_

The vault door exploded inwards and landed with a _CLANK_! Tendrils of white smoke danced off of the metal, coiling lazily towards the ceiling.

The blue-skinned magician hop-stepped into the room. "Ah...All the world's a stage...And my personal piggy-bank!" He cackled to himself.

"Show's over, Mumbo!"

A quick look over his shoulder confirmed it: Five familiar teenage figures blocked the door leading to the street. Robin stood proud in the centre, bo staff already drawn, flanked by Cyborg and Raven. Starfire hovered behind and to the left of the Boy Wonder, Starbolts and eyes already glowing. Finally, Beast Boy crouched at the front of the group, just to the right of the other Titans. He leaned over and mumbled out of the corner of his mouth: "Dude. He made that comment about the piggy-bank and _that_ was the best you could come up with?"

Robin glared, but didn't reply. Instead, he called across the large hall separating them from the villain: "It's the same as always, Mumbo. There's the hard way, and the-"

"ALAKAZAM!"

_poof!_

Robin's bo staff flopped pathetically. Robin stared at it. Beast Boy and Cyborg snickered. Raven rolled her eyes and Starfire remained perfectly oblivious to innuendo.

Mumbo doubled up with laughter. "Snkt-HAHAHAHAHAH!" He somehow managed to hover a few feet off the ground whilst lying on his back and kicking his legs about in the air.

Robin snarled and threw the staff to the side. "Titans, GO!"

Mumbo stopped laughing just in time to dodge a barrage of Starbolts, pole vault over a green rhinoceros, and land on top a black-glowing filing cabinet, before disenchanting it and 'surfing' it towards the doorway. "Hang five, Titans!"

Cyborg, still blocking the doorway with his massive bulk, aimed his sonic cannon. "WIPEOUT!" **BZZZZZZZT!**

"HA!" The filing cabinet 'swung' from side to side, managing to evade the blue beam.

But _not_ to evade the explosive bird-a-rang that embedded itself into the metal. Mumbo blinked stupidly at it. "Oh dear..."

**beep-beep-beep-beepbeepbeepbeepbeeeeeeeeeeep**

He tried to dive to the side-

**BOOOOM**

-But was still caught in the concussion blast. He was sent tumbling, rolling until he rather painfully banged into the small set of stairs leading up to the door – and to his escape. He scrambled for the top. Something tugged on his cape. He didn't think he wanted to know what it was. He looked anyway.

A large, angry, green tiger growled at him.

He paled.

The other Titans gathered round.

"Give it up, Mumbo." Robin warned.

Starfire hovered to his left. "Nobody has been harmed, nor any money been taken. Surrender now and you shall receive a minor sentence only."

"And if you don't..." Raven didn't finish her sentence. The glowing eyes and black magic that had formed around her hands said it all.

Mumbo looked at the four Titans blocking the doorway. He looked at the tiger/Beast Boy. The looked back to the Titans-

-Then grabbed Beast Boy's jaw and yanked it open.

"?" The Titans's eyes widened in shock – though, none so much as Beast Boy's.

Carefully, like a drunk man trying to find his way to bed, Mumbo clambered into...Beast Boy. Everyone was either too grossed out or too shocked to stop him.

And then he was gone.

Robin snapped out of it first. "Hey!" He rushed forward and wrenched Beast Boy's mouth open one more time and peered down it.

Beast Boy morphed back to his elf-like self, then pulled away from Robin's hands. "Dude, do you know how much that hurts?" He rubbed his jaw.

Cyborg stared at him. "I...But...You...ate him!"

Beast Boy grabbed his stomach. "I know. This is going to play Heck with my colon..."

Starfire looked at him strangely...then gasped as she remembered something.

She didn't have a chance to say it.

Someone called from outside: _"Hey!"_

Every Titan in the room tensed and looked towards the door – except Starfire. She gasped again and zoomed towards the exit. "Frost is in trouble!"

The other Titans stared after her.

"Ok...What is going on now?" Raven asked.

The others shrugged before running after the Tamerainian.

--/--/-

When Cyborg had told him to stay in the car, Frost didn't know how to feel. Probably frustrated because the Titans didn't think he could handle whoever was inside. Also because no one had ordered him to stay behind since he was five.

But he felt kinda relieved too. He had never handled a bank-robbing before, or even fought against another meta-human, and he would much rather do so _after_ some training – or after Robin gives him the OK.

Of course, when he saw a blue-skinned guy in a tuxedo run out the door and none of the Titans followed him out, that all went straight down the crapper.

He pushed the car door open and stepped out. "Hey!" He called – hopefully loud enough for the Titans to hear.

The blue-guy paused and looked at him – but ran off twice as fast as before when he saw which car Frost had come out of.

Frost swore under his breath, pulled his hood up further, and gave chase.

He ran across the road, then followed the magician down the sidewalk...

...Just as Starfire burst out of the bank and saw the empty car. "Friend?" She called anyway, perhaps to see if he was hiding.

No reply.

She desperately searched the streets on either side of the corner-bank.

There! A quick glimpse of Frost's blue-grey jacket disappearing around a corner. She rushed after it...

...And was out of sight by the time the other Titans ran outside.

"Starfire?" Robin asked, looking around. "Starfire! Frost!"

He stood in the middle of the street and turned back to face the bank. The bank entrance was stood on a right-angle, making it nearly impossible to see one side of the bank whilst standing on the other. Here, from his position in the middle of the street, Robin could search both sides – and see Starfire disappear round a corner to the left..

"There!" He shouted and pointed, mostly for the benefit of his team-mates. The T-car, carrying Cyborg and Raven, sprung to life and took off. Lacking the time to start up his R-cycle, Robin vaulted on to the back of the emerald horse Beast Boy had morphed into and took off...

...Moments before a little old lady hobbled out of the bank, adjusted her glasses and murmured: "Not a bad performance, for a free matinee..." And wandered off.


	4. Hot Pursuit

**Chapter 4  
Hot Pursuit**  


"You get back here!" Frost yelled, knowing the stupidity of the words before they even left his mouth.

Mumbo looked over his shoulder and blew a raspberry."_Pthththththbt_!"

Frost's eyes narrowed. That was the _second_ time today someone had done that to him whilst he was chasing them. The first had received pain. Now, so will the second.

_Chiing._ Three newly-made ice needles glinted in the meager light of the alley-way. Grasping them between his knuckles, Frost drew them across his torso and – _pht_ – let fly towards Mumbo.

"ABRACADABRA!"

Barely a metre from Mumbo's body, the crystals rotated absurdly and stuck straight up from the floor. Far too fast to be anything but magic, beautiful, silvery, glass-like flora bloomed from the tips of the needles. Frost gave them no more than a passing glance. Big mistake.

_PSSSSST!_

"Gah!" Desperately, yet futilely, Frost tried to bat the jets of freezing cold water away from his face. He stumbled out of the upside-down shower coughing and spluttering, rubbing at his eyes and glasses. He ripped his spectacles off his face and, squinting, peered down the alleyway to where Mumbo was making an escape. Frost made to give chase -

**WHAM!**

- But tripped over a trashcan.

"..._Damn_."

Mumbo's cruel laughter echoed through the narrow space.

Frost kicked the trashcan out from under his own shins and pushed himself up into squatting position Like a blind man he felt the ground around him, searching for the glasses he had dropped when he fell. Two, purple, quite blurred legs landed on his right side. Frost recognized these legs nigh-instantly, and fought the urge to look up. All it would give him was a blurred view of Starfire's face and a rather embarrassing reminder of exactly _how_ mini that mini-skirt was.

He lifted one hand in a sort of awkward wave instead.

The legs bent and more purple came into view as Starfire crouched down beside him. With ease, she leaned over and plucked the missing spectacles from where they had fallen, before passing them to Frost; but the albino, knowing they were safe, had lost interest He had slumped backwards, falling from his previous squat to just sitting on the alleyway floor, feet in front of him. He pushed his soles together and drew them inwards, gripping his ankles.

His hood had fallen backwards during either the water-jets or the fall. His white hair – now a wet mass of rat-tails – flopped over his face, hiding his scarlet eyes and high-cheekbones from view. He flexed his right wrist and winced.

He sighed forlornly.

Starfire looked at him curiously.

Frost lifted his arm and waved her off. "Go. He's getting away."

Starfire blinked. "Are you not joining me and the Titans in the apprehension of the Mumbo?"

Frost shook his head. "You're faster. And you have experience. I only started chasing him so you guys wouldn't lose him. Besides," he tested his right hand again. "I think I sprained something."

Starfire nodded and pushed herself off the ground. "The others will travaille upon this location soon. Entrap an elevator from them."

With no response in mind – and no clue what the Heck she had just said – Frost pointed about 45 degrees away from where his body was facing. "He's over there. Somewhere. Kick his arse."

"One hundred and four!" She saluted and zoomed off in the direction he had pointed, making a mental note to inquire as to how he attained this information.

Frost lowered his arm. Silence...

He rubbed his wrist and sighed. "Kick his arse..."

-\-/-\-/

Wow. Almost six streets down and no sign of the Titans. Mumbo only wished _all_ groupies were this easy to get rid of...

...Well, maybe not _all_ of them.

He threw a glance over his shoulder just to make sure. All clear.

He grinned, and faced front-

"!!!" He dug his heels into the asphalt in a mad attempt to brake. This he accomplished, but caused an ear-splitting '**SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!**' in the process.

He skidded to a halt two metres from where Beast Boy and Robin were guarding the exit to the alleyway. Mumbo panted, eyemask wide.

Robin whipped out his Bo Staff, which had recovered from its earlier...incident, and eased into a martial arts stance. "You're just getting yourself further into trouble, Mumbo." He warned.

Beast Boy backed him up. "Give up now and we'll forget about you spelunking down my oesaphogas when it comes to listing your offenses."

Mumbo growled and turned tail.

Robin rolled his eyes.

_**SCREEEETCCH!! **_The T-Car skidded to a halt at the other end of the alley. Cyborg stuck his head and sonic cannon out of the rolled-down window. "BOO-YAH! Boxed-in, Bluedini!"

Raven levered herself out of the sunroof and rested herself on the top of the car. Her eyes and hands glowed with dark energy. "Can we hurry this up? This _isn't_ the most comfortable place in the world..."

"What? You sayin' I shoulda put a seat on the roof?"

"It'd be somewhere to keep Beast Boy..."

Mumbo was trapped. The only way out was – – no. The alien girl could just be seen over the roof edge, blocking off any means of aerial escape.

He gritted his teeth.

Robin and Beast Boy advanced slowly, with the latter shifting into lion form as he moved. He let out a warning growl as Mumbo took a few steps back.

"You're trapped, Mumbo." Robin stated.

Mumbo tightened his grip on his wand.

"Fighting further would be pointless." Raven called from the T-car.

Mumbo inhaled steadily...

...Silence.

Robin moved forward, left hand reaching back to pull out the handcuffs -

"HEY PRESTO!"

-\-/-\-/-

"...'Course, when ya look at it _that_ way, if Ah hadn't tried tah sexually molest Robin, the entire state of reality as we know it would've imploded in on itself. Ah should get a medal!... And another grope..."

Three female figures traipsed down the oddly abandoned sidewalk, the centre figure – a petite blond garbed in a tank top and a knee length tartan skirt – being hauled along by her arms by the other two.

The figure to the first's right – also a blond, though taller, stockier and dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt – rolled her eyes. "Come off it, Krissie."

"But it's _true_!"

"The only thing that's true around here is my hair color!"

The third person – this one a brunette, clothed fully in black, with jeans and a short-sleeved blouse – cleared her throat, hinting.

The second blond smirked. "Well, that and Lori's cup size."

'Lori' blushed as the centre female cackled uncontrollably. The girl who had passed the remark continued to smirk.

Eventually Krissie calmed down enough to wipe the tears from her eyes (with difficulty) and say: "That was _mean_, Leah. Especially since she can't answer back."

"Yeah, well, she forgives me, right Lor?"

The brune pouted and crossed her arms over her previously mentioned – and rather _lacking_ – chest.

Leah raised an eyebrow at her.

Lori glared.

Leah crossed her eyes and stuck her jaw out.

Unable to keep up the act, Lori giggled breathily and reached over Krissie to playfully shove Leah – and stopped in her tracks.

The other also paused their movements.

"What's wrong?"

She nodded her head mutely towards an alleyway on the other side of the street...where Frost stumbling out of, trying to wring the water out of his jacket and failing miserably.

Krissie perked up. "Hey! It's that guy from the mall! The one that was with the Titans!"

Leah tightened her grip on Krissie's arm and exchanged a nervous glance with Lori. "Now, Kris, don't do anything drastic-"

_FWUMPH!_

Despite all their efforts to the contrary, Leah and Lori found themselves on their asses, watching helplessly as Krissie ran across the empty road and started to fangirl all over the poor man.

-\-/-\-/-

Frost gritted his teeth as his injured wrist protested to the strain he was putting on it. Still, if he was going to get moving he needed protection from the sun, and though he couldn't catch a chill from the dampness, wet clothes were still damn uncomfortable and heavy.

He winced and temporarily gave up, leaning against a wall and breathing through the pain.

Calm...

"HI!"

"Gah!" He leapt back and dropped his jacket to the floor.

The blond grinned perkily. "You were with the Titan's earlier, weren't ya?"

Frost blinked at her dazedly, before regaining his composure. "I'm surprised you remembered me. At the time I thought you were too busy trying to copualte with Robin to pay me any attention."

She giggled giddily and bounced on her heels. "It wasn't really 'copulatin',' as such."

"How so?"

"Ah hadn't gotten his pants off yet."

"I _see_."

Two other girls – Frost recognized them from when they dragged their accomplice off of Robin earlier – skidded to halt on either side of the blond, panting. The brunette rubbed her throat tenderly as she gained her breath back. The other – also a blond, though lacking the light brown roots of the first – clapped a hand onto the fangirl's shoulder.

"For the" _pant_ "last time," _cough_ "stop running off like that." She straightened up, and pointed her thumb at the girl in black. "It's bad for Lori's nerves."

'Lori' rolled her eyes and slapped the speaker lightly on the shoulder. Frost crouched down and picked up his jacket from the floor, throwing it around his shoulder still wet.

The fangirl (though for all he knew they were _all_ fangirls) frowned at him and asked cutely: "Shouldn't you be with the other Titans?"

Frost ignored the use of the word 'other' and nodded, replying "Probably. But we kinda split up and I got left behind. Probably best I stay out of it anyway."

The taller blond grinned. "Newbie?"

Frost nodded.

She winced comically. "I know the feeling."

Frost hummed idly. "But if I _do_ stay out of it, I feel guilty, especially if one of them gets injured."

The dyed-blond giggled. "Please. They're the Titans. It's absolutely impossible for one of the to get inj-"

"HEY PRESTO!"

_BAMF!_

Three blocks down two large, body-shaped bundles – one green and red, the other covered in emerald fur – tumbled out of an alleyway.

The bubblehead gasped. "Robbie!" Lori and the other grabbed her just in time to stop her from racing off – again.

The two Titans pushed themselves up, slowly but steadily.

Frost hesitated, before moving towards them. He jogged backwards so he could face and call the girls: "Get somewhere safe!" before turning around and sprinting full pelt towards the alley, where various sounds of combat were emerging from. Metres from the exit, he dug his heels in and skidded to halt...just as Mumbo attempted to vacate the passage.

_WHUMPH!_

"Ung!"

"Gah!"

_THUMP!_

They collapsed to the floor and Mumbo rolled off of Frost. Frost groaned and rubbed his head. Mumbo did likewise...and blinked, stunned, at the sound of a handcuff being fastened around his wrist. He stared at it, dumbfounded, then jerked as Robin pulled it behind him and fastened the shackle to his other arm.

"Th-This won't hold me!" He spluttered.

Robin clicked the handcuffs into place. "It'll do for now. Frost, are you OK?"

The albino rubbed the palm of his left hand, which he had put out to stop himself from landing too hard, and was now covered by a fresh-looking graze. "I'll live." He adjusted his glasses and reached out to pick up Mumbo's wand, which was lying on the floor where the magician had dropped it.

Mumbo's eyes bulged beneath the eyemask. "_No!_ Don't touch that! _Don't touch that!_" He struggled desperately, but Robin kept a firm grip on the chain of the manacles, restraining him.

Frost ignored him and picked up the wand. He held it by one edge, pointing upwards. "This thing...the source of his powers, right?"

"_Put it doooown!"_

Robin twisted the chain, perhaps a little cruelly, causing Mumbo's arms to be pulled further back. "That and the hat, that's all he is."

Frost hummed to himself idly and – _fwumph!_ - burned the wand. Oddly enough, it fizzled, snapped and glowed vibrant colors as it set alight.

"GAH!"

_pop_

The blue-skinned, richly suited villain was near-instantly replaced by a skinny, weedy, almost bald man in a plain shirt and slacks, the type of person that seemed too 'accountant-y' to be an accountant.

He trembled, seeming to shrink into himself.

Frost raised an eyebrow and stood up. "Wasn't expecting that," he mumbled as he pushed himself to his feet.

As Robin hauled the now non-powered Mumbo to his feet, Starfire floated down to him from her vantage point above the alley and asked: "Would it not be wise for someone to escort Frost back to our home? I doubt he would wish to do much more, and today has been...eventful for him, considering his previous interactions with the criminal populace."

Robin gave Mumbo a look, warning him not to cause any more trouble, before replying; "I'd rather he came with me back to the bank when I drop off Mumbo. The commissioner's probably there, and want to introduce him." At her doubtful look he reassured her "I know you don't want any of the Titan's upset, especially a new one, but Frost doesn't seem the sort to be shaken easily. He'll be fine."

Mumbo piped up, meekly "Do I get a say in this?"

"_No."_

He cringed.

Robin called to Frost and the other Titans: "Starfire, Raven and Cyborg, head home. Frost, I'd like to introduce you to a friend of mine, if you're up to it."

Frost, who had started to walk back towards the car, turned steadily. "Will it, in any way, involve me having to stop anyone by throwing myself in front of them?"

"Hopefully not."

Frost clasped his hands together in a prayer position and mouthed something at the heavens, before starting to limp, slightly, back towards Robin. He grabbed Mumbo by the elbow when he was in reach, and together with Robin, frog-marched him back towards Perez Bank.

Three blocks into the walk and Frost couldn't help but sneak a look into the nearby back alley.

Three female figures – one wide-eyed and pinned between the other two – sneaked a look back at him.

He smirked.

-\-/-\-/-

"_...You know, I don't know why we even bother to come to the crime scenes anymore."_

"_Why's that?"_

"_Well, most of the time the Titans catch the bad guy anyway, and we have enough witnesses to convict him, evidence or no."_

"_It's regulation, though. We need to come out here, if just for the look of things. Plus, someone needs to take the perp back to jail, right?"_

"_Why can't the Titans do that though?"_

"_Well, they're busy, aren't they? Growing up and stuff. Finding their identities. I mean, what were you doing when you were a teenager?"_

"_Smoking pot and screwing chicks."_

"_..."_

"_It was the eighties! Everyone was doing it then!"_

"_How the **Hell** did you become a cop?"_

"Looked so damn pitiful in the academy we gave him his badge just so he wouldn't start cryin' all over us."

The two officers jerked upright and saluted, a slight red blush on their cheeks at being caught slacking. "_Chief_!"

The commissioner glared at them. "There's no guarantee the Titan's will catch the perp every time. And there isn't always going to be witnesses. We still need to come out here just in case." The glare increased. "Though if you _really_ don't like it, you don't have to come. Just don't expect to get _paid_ any more."

"_Yessir!"_

Seemingly satisfied, the police chief began shouting out orders. "Michaels, Gunther, you two stay in here and collect evidence – _no arguments._ Gibson, Ford, come out with me to check the vicinity, see if the perp – it was Mumbo wasn't it? – see if he's still around or if the Titans show up."

"_Yessir!"_

The commissioner fitted on the standard-uniform helmet and jogged out of the bank with the other two cops in tow, as the two chatters were left behind to do the job they had been complaining about – and had signed up to do.

-\-/-\-/-

"Gah, _no!_ Nngh, _LEGGO'A MEEEE_!"

Mumbo struggled. Mumbo yelled. Mumbo threw his weight backwards in an attempt to slow down his captors.

Robin and Frost carried on regardless. Because of his weedy frame, pretty much anything Mumbo tried was completely ineffective.

Apart from the screaming. The screaming was annoying.

"YOU BROKE MY WAND! _YOU BROKE MY WAAAAND!"_ He pulled his legs up and kicked randomly.

Frost leaned back to ask Robin: "Don't you have anything you can gag him with?"

Mumbo gasped. "_NOOO_! THAT'S POLICE BRUTALITY! _I HAVE RIGHTS_!"

Robin shrugged hopelessly at Frost.

Mumbo put his feet back onto the asphalt and dug his heels in. He turned to Frost and desperately tried to convince him. "Hey! I have a haul of jewels back at my hideout. Y-you have powers, you can beat Robin up! Get me out of here a-and the jewels are yours!"

Frost raised an eyebrow. "...How many are there?" He whispered back.

Robin pretended not to hear.

"Enough. _Thousands_ of dollars worth."

"Promise?"

"_Swear_."

Frost stopped, causing Mumbo and Robin to halt also. The albino's red eyes gave Mumbo a once over glance. "Where?"

Robin watched them both carefully.

Mumbo, excited now he had caught the other's attention, blurted out the address. "I have a spare wand there too." He added, "G-get me out of here, and we'll ransack every bank, every jewelry store from here to Metropolis. We'll be _rich_!"

Frost looked over at Robin. "You hear that?"

Robin nodded and repeated the address. "We can tell the cops when we hand him over." He started walking again, dragging Mumbo with him. Frost followed.

Mumbo shook, bemused and angry. "Y-you-!" He spluttered.

Frost blinked, innocently. "I'm sorry, did I make it sound like I was actually going to go along with it? I apologize, it won't happen again."

"_YOU TRAITOR! YOU DOUBLE-CROSSER! YOU – YOU BAST-_"

"That's enough, now." Frost shushed him sharply.

Mumbo continued to mumble obscenities to himself. They hauled him around a corner.

Now the bank was in sight. As they watched, three cops emerged from its interior and scanned the area. Robin smirked to himself and hailed them with a whistle. They looked over, body language surprised and wary, each one reaching for the laser pistol in their holster slung over one hip. When they saw who called them and who was with him, however, each one relaxed. With a signal from one whom Frost assumed to be their leader – the usual colors of the JCPD uniform, black and white, were replaced by sheer black – the two other officers jogged up to Robin and Frost and dragged away a still mumbling Mumbo. The third one strolled up, slower, more leisurely, and Robin lead Frost forward to meet him.

By the time they met, the two officers looking after Mumbo had started to try and get him into the squad car – without success.

"YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LAST OF ME_EE_EE! I'LL GET OUT! AND I'LL GET MY REVENGE!! D'YA HEAR ME...UH, um..."He whispered to one of the cops, _"What's that guy's name, anyway?"_

The cop whispered back: _"What, you mean Robin?"_

"_Nah, the other one. The one in blue."_

The cop shrugged. His partner rolled his eyes beneath his helmet and stuffed Mumbo into the car, taking advantage of the quiet.

"_Ow!__Police brutality! POLICE BRUTALITY!!!"_

"Frost."

The albino turned at his alias. "Hm?"

Robin smiled warmly and indicated the police officer next to him. "This is the person I wanted you to meet. Frost, meet Commissioner Blake. Commissioner, this is our latest candidate for Titanship."

Frost nodded and held out his hand. "Commissioner, it's a pleasure-"

Blake removed..._her_ helmet, shook her short hair out and shook Frost's hand. "The pleasure's mine, please."

Frost blinked.

Blake grinned. "Admit it. You were expecting a guy."

Frost shrugged. "I'm male. So sue me."

Blake chuckled and turned to Robin. "I like this kid."

Frost glared slightly at being called a kid' "I'm _seventeen_."

"I'm forty-six. Suck it up, bitch."

Frost gave her a cocky smirk.

"Commissioner!" One of the cops from the squad car called over. "HQ just radioed. Wanted to know if you forgot about that press conference about punishment for juvenile delinquents the Mayor wanted you to go to."

Blake winced. "Crap!"

The cop reached into the car, grabbed the radio and stated: "She forgot."

There was cheering on the other end, for some reason.

The commissioner glared, rammed her helmet back into her head and stalked towards the car. "Damnit, did they have a pool on me again?"

The two cops chuckled to themselves, and strapped themselves into the car. Blake opened one of the back doors and, declaring: "Move it, Mumbo," to the back seat's current occupant, climbed in. Mumbo gave a small, whiny scream of objection before falling completely silent.

Frost tried to stifle his half-giggles. At Robin's raised eyebrow, he cleared his throat and explained. "Sorry. It's just, I've been wanting Mumbo to shut up for the past few minutes, and that just made an old family saying popped into my head."

"Which is?"

"Roughly translated? 'Respect a woman, not because she is greater than you, nor because she is lesser than you; merely because she can make many layers of Hades welcoming when provoked.'"

"You have a very smart family."

"I know."


End file.
